PRESS RELEASE: Government appeal against Work Capability Assessment discrimination ruling is rejected ~ Mental Health Resistance Network

MHRN

 

Mental Health Resistance Network 

Press Release Wednesday 4th December 2013 

The Court of Appeal today (4 December 2013) rejected the Government’s appeal against a landmark ruling by the Upper Tribunal that the Work Capability Assessment discriminates against people with mental health problems. 

During a four day hearing in January 2013, the Upper Tribunal heard evidence from the 2 disabled claimants, from mental health charities, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness and the National Autistic Society, as well as from the Government about the operation of the Work Capability Assessment [1], and the experience of people with mental health problems going through the process.

In May 2013, having weighed the evidence, the tribunal concluded [2] that the process substantially disadvantaged those with mental health problems [3]. This was for two main reasons: first because the application process and the face to face interview can be particularly distressing and confusing for those with mental health problems; and second because of the great difficulty that many with mental health problems have in explaining their condition, which increases the risk that the benefit will be wrongly refused. 

To remedy this disadvantage, the claimants, supported by the mental health charities and by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, argued that where ESA applicants have mental health problems, the DWP should consider obtaining medical evidence from the claimant’s doctor or psychiatric team at every stage of the process, and if a decision was taken by Atos or the DWP not to ask for medical evidence, this would have to be justified at each stage. This approach followed a recommendation made in November 2012 by Professor Malcolm Harrington, an independent reviewer of the process appointed by the Government. 

The Government refused to implement this adjustment because it argued that the system did not discriminate against people with mental health problems.

As stated above, the tribunal disagreed. It ruled that the adjustment to the process recommended by Professor Harrington might be a reasonable response to the “substantial disadvantage” it had found, and urged the Government to carry out a trial to see if obtaining further medical evidence earlier in the process would make the process better for people with mental health problems. Once the new process was trialled, the tribunal asked the Government to return to court for a hearing about whether – in light of the trial – the adjustment was reasonably necessary. 

Instead of accepting the tribunal’s findings, and conducting an urgent trial, the Government appealed to the Court of Appeal against the tribunal’s finding of “substantial disadvantage”. It also argued that the two claimants did not have the right to bring the case because they themselves had not been adversely affected.

Today the Court of Appeal rejected the Government’s arguments on both these points. In giving the main judgment of the court, Lord Justice Elias stated that: 

“the Tribunal identified various ways in which [Further Medical Evidence] would assist [people] with a range of mental disabilities, and in my judgment there was sufficient evidence to justify the conclusion that [mental health patients] were placed, as a group, at more than a trivial disadvantage”. 

The claimants solicitor, Ravi Low-Beer of the Public Law Project, stated: 

“It is regrettable that the Government chose to appeal against the tribunal’s finding that people with mental health problems are disadvantaged by the current system, rather than take the steps necessary to improve it.

“Now that the Court of Appeal has upheld the tribunal’s finding, we sincerely hope that the Government will take immediate steps to improve the system. Disabled people, charities and many others are only asking the Government to implement the recommendation of the independent expert the Government itself appointed. This has been delayed since May 2013 while the Government appealed. It should not be delayed further.”

 

MENTAL HEALTH RESISTANCE NETWORK 

 

For further information contact Ravi Low-Beer r.lowbeer@publiclawproject.org.uk or on 020 7843 1264.

1 The WCA is a face to face interview conducted by healthcare professionals employed by a private company, Atos Healthcare to assess eligibility for Employment and Support Allowance. Approximately 28,000 ESA claims (some 11,000 from existing Incapacity Benefit claimants, and some 17,000 from new ESA claimants) are made each week, around 40% of them by applicants who suffer from mental health problems. The speed and quality of the Work Capability Assessment interviews and the decisions resulting from them have been consistently criticised by disabled people.

2 http://www.publiclawproject.org.uk/news/7/press-release-work-capability-assessment-discriminates-against-claimants-with-a-mental-health-disabi

3 http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKUT/AAC/2013/259.html

See also

Victory for welfare campaigners as DWP loses appeal against work capability assessment ruling Posted on December 4, 2013

Backstory

PRESS RELEASE: WCA JUDICIAL REVIEW VICTORY IN THE HIGH COURT ~ MENTAL HEALTH RESISTANCE NETWORK Posted on May 22, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

29 thoughts on “PRESS RELEASE: Government appeal against Work Capability Assessment discrimination ruling is rejected ~ Mental Health Resistance Network

  1. Ray G says:

    I was assessed by ATOS in July 2012, I was depressed and under medication from my GP I have severe insomnia and find day to day activities difficult. My situation after the lying HCP gave me no points got worse to the point I was contemplating suicide. My GP referred immediately to a mental health worker. I was undergoing therapy during the 12 months whilst I waited for an appeal. I was unable to get help at the appeal and as a consequence I lost although I got awarde 9 points. My benefit was stopped immediately and since I have been living off my savings. No allowance was made of my mental condition either at the WCA or the appeal hearing.

  2. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    …….it’s taken a long time coming

    Probe is planned in Bradford into disability assessments Probe is planned in Bradford into disability assessments

    A full-scale Council investigation into controversial Government disability assessments is to hold a major hearing this week.

    Bradford Council, which has branded the tests “unfair”, is believed to be the first local authority in the country to be investigating their effects on vulnerable people in their area.

    Anyone who wants to claim disability benefits now has to undergo a test called the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to see if they are able to work.

    But the testing scheme, contracted out to healthcare firm Atos, has come under fire from disability rights groups.

    And in July, the Council branded the process “unfair, inaccurate, and bad value for money”.

    A motion passed by the full Council said the tests were “causing fear and distress” among vulnerable disabled people, that they discriminated against those who had fluctuating conditions and that the appeals process was too lengthy.

    Now, a committee has started investigating the local effects of the programme by holding a two-month inquiry.

    As part of this, the Council’s Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee will meet on Thursday to hear first-hand from disabled people and their carers who have been through the assessment process.

    The committee will also be gathering the views of organisations working with disabled people, such as Disability Advice Bradford and Mind, as well as the Department of Work and Pensions and Atos itself.

    It will publish its findings in the New Year.

    In July, the Government announced it would bring in other contractors to run the assessments, as well as Atos, in a bid to tackle waiting times.

    A DWP spokesman said: “Through a series of independent reviews and by working with medical experts and charities, we have considerably improved the WCA process since 2010.

  3. jed goodright says:

    This is good news!
    Once again this inadequate and unjust government has been found wanting. Guess what? – nothing in the main press about this – if ever there was an opportunity to kick InDeepShit in the bollocks it’s NOW – suppose he’ll be booking anothe ‘important European’ venture for next week!!!!

  4. Barry says:

    A victory in the law courts & justice upheld to protect those of use with mental health issues & too all those that partisapated in bringing the evidence to court I thank you for all your hard work.

  5. jed goodright says:

    So what happens next?

    No comments from DWP
    No publicity in the media

    The WCA is a busted flush and no doubt they will just carry on as usual – which is ILLEGAL – the WCA HAS TO GO and all those abused by it up till now should be compensated and returned to their former ‘incomes’ – time to sue the government

  6. Geoff Reynolds says:

    ……how strange that in the passing of a few years, the DWP have gone from a position of extolling the virtues of ATOS Health Care Professionals, to a position that they are ashamed to have anything to do with them, whatsover………………….

    They were heralded from the rooftops by our con-demn government and afforded the luxury of near billion pound contracts………..

    You must ask yourselves, why so much taxpayers, hard pressed income was wasted on the “BIGGEST SET OF SHYSTERS INVITED ON OUR SHORES”.

    Congratulations to all of you who have stood in a unified manner to bring this injustice to a head……….

    The German government tried to distance itself from the the very people they had instructed to carry out inhumane acts, this is now being seen to be followed by THE INGLORIOUS DWP…………….

    They can try to erase their footprints in the sand but the heinous, evil actions against the most vulnerable will remain indelible.

    No amount of compensation can bring back a loved one who has succumbed to death, as a result of our crazed welfare policies,
    indeed, the Queen, our monarch, should stand trial for giving royal assent for these unsavoury actions upon her subjects.

    In doing so, she signed the death warrants for those least likely to have the provision to fight back, the weakest in our society.

    It’s no good waltzing around wearing ermine and pearls and unveiling plaques to yourself, while you shaft the very citizens you have been expected to protect.

    The criminal actions, and i repeat, criminal actions, are being laid at the feet of the HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONERS, who, i expect, should be pursuing the complaints vigorously, as the death toll is continuing to spiral, out of control…………….

    ATOS, therefore are now disgraced, but who dare pick up the mantle that would allow them to further persecute the disabled?

    One thing is for sure, the DWP is now in a state of denial, a denial that was thrust upon the existence of disability of our persons.

    The freedom of information galleries hold all the relevant information that the DWP has released since the inception of the
    ESA examinations.

    It is a damning indictment of their collusion with a renegade company who were allowed to take lives based upon deception hidden in welfare reform, murder by decree……….

    KEEP ON RUNNING, THE TRUTH IS TIGHTENING THE NOOSE THAT HAS BEEN FIRMLY PLACED AROUND YOUR NECKS………………………

  7. Geoff Reynolds says:

    THE COFFINS KEEP ON COMING,
    ATOS DID IT’S BEST,
    TO CHEAT OUR WEAK DISABLED,
    AND LAY THEM DOWN TO REST.

    YET WORKS AND PENSIONS WORKERS,
    APPLIED THE CLAIMANT CUTS,
    AND PRETEND THE DEATHS AREN’T HAPPENING,
    AND SHOW THEIR LACK OF GUTS.

    YET MURDER IS A CRIME,
    WE’VE SEEN THEM ALL COMMIT,
    ON THE FRAILEST IN SOCIETY,
    THEY UNLEASHED THEIR EVIL SHIT.

    KEEP LOOKING RIGHT BEHIND YOU,
    YOUR SINS WON’T GO AWAY,
    CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY,
    FOREVER HERE TO STAY.

    WE ONLY FOLLOWED ORDERS,
    IS NO EXCUSE TO KILL.
    TAKING LIVES AT RANDOM,
    TO EASE THE WELFARE BILL.

    THE NOOSE OF TRUTH IS TIGHTENING,
    THUS, ONLY TIME WILL TELL
    TO CHOKE THE LIFEBLOOD FROM YOU,
    FOR THOSE, YOU DAMNED TO HELL………….

  8. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    The word QUANTUM, when used in relation to a LITIGATION CLAIM, usually relates to the amount of compensation that would be normally paid out in compensation to the litigant (claimant).

    The word is derived from the latin word, quanta, which roughly translates to,”how much?”

    I would expect that the DWP are employing the cream of the legal trade, to limit the amount of compensation that will eventually be paid to direct, and indirect claims resulting from intentionally flawed ATOS examination reports.

    These so called, experts, or damage limitation cronies will be working flat out to try and erase the links between the government and the renegade French company.

    It is rightly noted that this renegade company has now cast a dark shadow on the very people that utilised it in a policy of “DISABILITY DENIAL”, that was used by the the much discredited UNUM INSURANCE.

    Huge lawsuits that run into millions of dollars, bear witness to the evil, twisted policies that the DWP DECIDED TO UNLEASH ON OUR MOST VULNERABLE…………………..

    Heads will eventually roll, but the damage limitation will probably limit the boundaries of any real inquiry……..

    The tentacles of the media are indelibly stained by a collusion that withholds the truth from the populus…………………….

    People are not fools, the fools are the perpetrators of these evil acts, for thinking they would never be called to account……

  9. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    The strangest thing of all is, our government have taken no action, whatsoever, against ATOS.

    ……….and the reason is, they dare not…………………

    Because if the entire contents of the contract with our government, were ever released into the public domain, this government would be up Shit Creek, without a paddle………………………………….

    The evidence would be testimony to the war that was unleashed on the weakest and most vulnerable……………..
    and bring forth the scurrying of rats in an effort to distance themselves from the most evil acts unleashed on UK soil.

    …..TIME WILL TELL

    1. geoff reynolds says:

      …….and here to prove what i said;

      December 2013

      Dear Mr Slater,

      Thank you for your Freedom of Information request which we received on 26 November 2013.

      You asked:

      In respect of its medical services contract with Atos IT Services UK Limited, has the DWP
      exercised any of its rights under said contract’s termination or break clauses?

      In response, I can advise that the Department has not used any of its rights under the
      termination or break clauses of the Medical Services Agreement.
      If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.
      Yours sincerely

      Business Management Team
      Health & Disability Assessments (Operations)
      [email address]

  10. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    Nice to see somebody contesting what “shitforbrains”, said about UNIVERSAL CREDIT………

    5 December 2013

    Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

    In your dwp press release today – 5 December
    2013 Iain Duncan Smith was quoted as saying;
    “early indications show that claimants are positive about this
    benefit”

    Could you please provide the following information.?

    What is the source for this comment.?

    Including-

    Who carried out this investigation?

    What demographic was asked.?

    How was this data analysed.?

    How much did this investigation cost.?

    Is it possible to access the raw data on this feedback.? As in.,
    the actual responses.?

    Many thanks for your help in this matter.

    Yours faithfully,

    Susie Banks

    Link to this
    https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ids_press_release_on_universal_c#incoming-457660

    Leave a Reply

  11. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    It’s pantomime season again and the biggest draw this year will be “THE M.P.’s PAY RISE”.

    This lavish production has the backing of the “Independent Parliamentary Standards Troupe of Monkeys”, a chosen few, who will, no doubt be raising a glass of good fortune to themselves……

    INDEPENDENT MY ARSE!!!

    You are going to witness the show of a lifetime where MP’s will be playing out the event of the year…….

    It’s no good shouting, “He’s behind you”, because we know it’s a creation of your own doing!

    You are about to witness a contrivance, so intricate, that you will almost believe the contents…………………..

    There will follow a big debate in which the people who purport to represent you, will declare that the proposed 11% rise is unjust at a time when austerity is the key issue.

    Following this, in which many will claim that it was thrust upon them and not asked for, a smaller amount, maybe 5%, will finally be agreed upon…………………..

    It will get backing from all sides of the house and be seen to be the “GREAT COMPROMISE THAT NEVER WAS”…………..

    We are all in it together, was the biggest con ever enacted upon our people.
    Anyone who believed it at the time must have been a total imbecile……

    ………and there you have it, a fiasco specially developed to fool the likes of, you and me, whilst delivering the goods to the greediest bastards in society, whilst purporting to be something they never asked for in the first place………….

    Not such a bad deal in a time when there are more working families in poverty, than those not working.
    Where people are being thrown out of their homes, disabled are robbed and the climate resembles that of the Dickensian Workhouse era……………

    They have no shame, and the state of the country lays testament to the out of touch…………..

    ………if the electorate is to be given the right to vote on the issue of staying in Europe, why can’t it be granted the freedom to vote on all issues?……….

    The answer is simple, it would go against the agenda that the banks, hedge funds and corporate giants seek to attain.

  12. Stepping Razor says:

    Contradictions – DWP appeals against its own rules.
    Having a contradiction policy means you can take your own rules to court for breaking it`s own rules. A contradiction is not fit for purpose & not worth the paper it`s written on because it is contradictory contradictions. What a contradiction muddle the DWP have got into with failures.

    SR

  13. Stepping Razor says:

    Universal credit deadline won’t be met, says DWP – 6th Dec 2013

    Funding for the delayed universal credit project will continue, the government has told councils.

    The Department for Work and pensions yesterday confirmed that deadlines for the troll out of the universal credit will not be met but in a guidance letter to councils, the minister leading the project said fund allocated for the project would continue.

    An official statement to Parliament, released on the same day as the chancellor’s autumn statement, confirmed that the deadline for moving current and future claimants of six benefits by the end of 2017 would not be met.

    Full Article: Local Government Chronicle
    http://www.lgcplus.com/news/universal-credit-deadline-wont-be-met-says-dwp/5066204.article?blocktitle=Latest-Local-Government-News&contentID=2249

  14. Sheogorath says:

    May I just be the first to say that the ConDems and those who accept the use of forced labour from them are all about as useful as hemipenes in Desert Grassland Whiptail lizards. Just sayin’.

    1. George Osborne says:

      May I just take this opportunity to point out to you ignorant unwashed toerags (well, you are. That’s what we’ve made you) that our work experience schemes are working very well, especially because of the accompanying sanctions. I will admit that the job creation angle isn’t going quite to plan, but at least we’re successfully reducing the amount of employees available for each position, which is directly leading to an overall reduction in the amount of unemployment. As I’ve stated, quite successful. Just saying.

  15. Stepping Razor says:

    Minister for disabled admits ‘poor quality’ assessments have taken place – 6th Dec 2013 [Islington Tribune] by PETER GRUNER

    LETTER from a government minister in which he admits “poor quality” assessments have taken place over whether disabled people are fit to work was ceremonially torn up outside the Islington Town Hall on Tuesday.

    Council leader Richard Watts was cheered as he angrily ripped into two the letter from Minister for Disabled People Mike Penning MP.
    Cllr Watts said it was proof that the controversial benefits assessment system, described as “demeaning and demoralising,”, should be immediately scrapped.

    Also at the event to mark World Disabled Day was former Islington Mayor, Sandy Marks. The grandmother described how, despite being confined to a wheelchair, she was deemed fit for work by a government assessor.

    Mr Penning defended decisions by the Archway-based adjudicators Atos Healthcare although he admitted a recent audit identified an “unacceptable drop” in the quality of reports.
    His letter was in reply to one sent by the council after it passed a vote of no confidence in Atos in October over the tests to discover if people are fit for work.

    Cllr Watts slammed Atos as “part of an invidious system carrying out incompetent work” on behalf of the government.
    He added: “It is our impression that assessors do not always have the required medical knowledge to judge whether or not someone is fit for work and that they ignore evidence of sickness or disability.”

    The council are encouraging disabled people to appeal if they disagree with decisions, on the basis that 87 per cent who do so are successful.

    Full Article: Islington Tribune:
    http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2013/dec/minister-disabled-admits-%E2%80%98poor-quality%E2%80%99-assessments-have-taken-place

    1. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

      Using the words,”POOR QUALITY”, is another feeble excuse to try to redefine “COMPLETELY BIASED MEDICAL ASSESSMENT THAT ROBS THE CLAIMANT OF BENEFITS”.

      Toying with words is just another cowardly way of the DWP trying to distance from the horrors, and i mean horrors, that were perpetrated against the people less able to fight back.

      The ongoing attacks against the most vulnerable are being broadcast across the globe and are attracting the attention of HUMAN RIGHTS commissioners.

      Indeed, many people have contacted them after having the benefits afforded to them in respect of their disabilities, stolen…………………

      ATOS and the concealment of it’s contract details are proof enough that the whole game of “medical charades”, was designed exclusively to rob, steal and cheat…….

      What concerns me at the moment, is the amount of pain, suffering and grief that claimants have had to endure.

      You have been subject to DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION, not by a person, but by a government department, the DWP.

      These cowards must be brought to trial and found guilty of the crimes they committed.

      We must pursue these faceless cowards until we get the satisfaction of justice……………….

      No amount of compensation can bring back loved ones who have died as a result of these heinous acts.
      This has been acknowledged by virtue of the fact that the DWP continue to try and hide the escalating death toll from public view………….

      Mutiny is about to be witnessed across our cities. The sooner, the better i think.

      Public outrage is hidden by the puppet media of the government. They saw fit to light the touch paper, just let the fun begin………………..

  16. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    While people are being asked to wait over six hours in ambulances, none essential operations cut back to a minimum, people thrown on the streets, jobless working for slave employers and disabled robbed of their benefits, we have the prince of clowns throwing £40.1 million down the proverbial, shitter……

    Duncan SMITH is not a comedian, yet his department, the DWP, are employing the biggest fool ever………….

    Which other country would allow, this legend in his own lunch time, the space and power to write off this mind blowing amount on the “GRAND UNIVERSAL CREDIT FUCK UP?”

    How many people do you have to sanction, displace, or drive to death, while Cameron’s crown jester squanders vast amounts on a pie in the sky scheme?

    It’s been proven, time and time again, that a software cannot cope with the multiplexity of social situations that arise from a claim, it is for this reason, that it was always doomed from it’s inception on the back of a fag packet.

    This guy could’nt win a one legged arse kicking contest, yet he is free to waste cash of these proportions………….

    One things for sure, whatever sum the DWP have admitted to, will be a fraction of the real amount that has been blown.

    Telling the truth, and the DWP, don’t exactly go hand in hand, neither does the bottle to admit how many lives have been lost due to ESA and other, dark, draconian, methods of human torture by brown envelope.

    ………..forty fucking million, and the rest, what a fucking joke!

    The travesty of all this is, if you had got £40 they would instigate a major operation to force you to pay it back, sanction you and probably lead you onto the street, homeless………..

    …….and yet the “comedy of errors” continues at our expense….

  17. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    The content of the reports are totally irrelevant and mostly overlooked at tribunals Steve.

    Receipt of a negative report is all they ever set out to do and any transparency of the contract between ATOS and the DWP would prove this fact, this is why they seek to protect it’s content at any cost……………

    Personal tragedy, destitution and homelessness, undernourishment and death, were acceptable and cleverly overlooked by the decision not to have a real impact assessment done.

    Disability denial is not a crime if backed by the government, it seems…………………….

    …….but nobody has immunity from prosecution when the shit hits the fan….

    Being part of a conspiracy to defraud, that results in death, firmly puts their fingers on the trigger……..

  18. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    It goes without saying, that if we now now the DWP and ATOS conspired to steal benefits belonging to disabled, then “Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service”, will be implicated in the conspiracy also……………..

    There is no smoke without fire and both the DWP and HMCTS, will be sleeping in the same bed, although trying to portray an air of complete separation…………………………

    Have you ever thought how it could be humanly possible, for a claimant, robbed of their benefits, to attend a tribunal that has the Queen at it’s head?

    Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals, adjudicating on a case that involves the Welfare Reform Act, that our monarch gave her blessing to, in the form of “Royal Assent”.

    These two departments are linked in several ways, in fact one cannot exist without the other………………….

    Read any documentation on the courts and tribunal service and it will always state that they are fair and independent…..

    This is far from the truth, as the bias is always against the person facing the tribunal or court…….

    You are the subject of a kangaroo court initiated by the state, on behalf of the state, for the state.
    You are guilty and asked to portray your innocence even before you enter the chamber.
    Indeed, the make up of the judges and doctors will have been chosen, not independently, but by intervention.

    The principle of the separation of powers is the cornerstone of an
    independent and impartial justice system. Everyone is entitled to a
    fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal
    established by law as defined by European Court of Human Rights
    Article 6 and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights Article 47.

    The aforesaid, principle of separation of powers are not applied in the uk, they are inextricably linked…………

    Even the DWP decision maker is not independent, as they make decisions on the policies that have been made by their own department, how can this be acceptable, judge and jury rolled into one???

    To illustrate what i am trying to say, the Social Security Act 1998, part 6, dictates the constitution of tribunal appeals. The act provides for the election of the “President”, and dictates the
    procedural and directives of the tribunal in its function.

    Finally, i think i am right in suggesting that the DWP even pays for it…………

    In effect, meaning,

    …………..HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER, CALLS THE TUNE!

  19. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    ………for Gunnyeon (the Angel of Death), to openly admit that ATOS HCP’s, or any other for that matter, have no medical qualifications, is an understatement……………….

    What he is really saying is,”Christ, we’ve been rumbled, what can we do to cover it up, the public are’nt as stupid as we first thought”

    The DWP have always run away from questions regarding the HCP’s qualifications, here is an FOI that i sent them…….

    Dear Mr Reynolds,
    Freedom of Information Act – Request for Information
    Our Reference: FoI 2207

    Thank you for your Freedom of Information request which we received on 13 May 2013.

    You asked:

    Recently i asked which organisations recognised the ATOS HCP Qualifications, in your reply you
    sent this: The Registered Nurse New Entrant Academy is recognised and has received
    accreditation from the University of Derby. Please highlight all the organisations who recognise it,
    apart from Derby University, who issued it in the first place? Please let me know if you need more
    time to collate the list…………..
    If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.
    ………………………………………………………….
    Atos HCP is not a recognised qualification. It should be noted that health care professionals who
    work for Atos are qualified and registered with their respective medical bodies.

    Yours sincerely

    Business Management Team
    Health & Disability Assessments (Operations)
    [email address]
    …………………………………………………………

    As you can see from their reply, they accept that the HCP carry no recognised qualifications, say no more…….

    However, to further announce that he will be working to help them get some medical qualifications, is admitting that all prior tests are not worth the paper they are written on…….

    Imagine getting an MOT certificate, only to be told later that the examiner was not really up to the job, unqualified!!
    Then, to put you at ease, don’t worry, we will try to get the appropriate accredition……

    To brand the whole Work Capability Assessment as a complete fiasco is an understatement.
    What you are witnessing is a complete failure of reassessment by charlatan operatives that the Secretary of State saw fit to enable, to steal disability benefits………………..

    The only qualifications that are worthy of any value are those that are recognised by our existing medical organisations.

    It’s no good trying to fast track a qualification that carries no weight, you can’t make a tyre fitter into a piano tuner by creating a pie in the sky certification system, but this is just what the DWP will try to do.

    Rather than admit defeat, headed by the most famous comedian, IDS, they will carry on blowing countless millions in their wake, as they have done in every thing they have tampered with……………

  20. Humanity2012 says:

    Tax the Rich Hands Off the Poor

    Constitutional Protection for Welfare Benefits and a Ban
    upon Media Victimisation of the Poor and Vulnerable

    Better the Red Flag of Socialist Revolution than the Chains
    of Capitalist Oppression

  21. GEOFF REYNOLDS says:

    “SANCTIONS”

    ACCORDING TO THE LAWS SET DOWN IN THE GENEVA CONVENTION, THE USE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE IS BANNED, YET THE DWP BREACH THESE LAWS, EACH AND EVERY DAY…………

    THE DWP UTILISE A UNIT, APTLY CALLED THE “NUDGE UNIT”, THIS UNIT IS MORE APPROPRIATELY CALLED, A PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING UNIT.

    PSYCHOMETRIC TESTING UNITS ARE USED TO GENERATE POLICIES AND ACTIONS THAT CAN BE USED TO BREAK DOWN THE RESOLVE OF CLAIMANTS USING BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE TECHNIQUES.

    INDEED, RECENTLY, THE NUDGE UNIT WAS BROUGHT INTO LINE FOR USING PSYCHOMETRIC QUESTIONNAIRES ON CLAIMANTS THAT HAD NOT BEEN RATIFIED AND WERE CONDEMNED BY EXPERTS IN THE FIELD.

    The ‘test’ that the DWP ‘borrowed’, and is forcing unemployed people to take on pain of losing their benefits, was devised by a US psychologist alleged to have devised psychological-torture interrogation programmes for the US military and the CIA.

    The questions the DWP has ‘borrowed’ come from the ‘Values in Action Inventory of Strengths’ test devised by Christopher Peterson and Martin ‘Marty’ Seligman. In 2001, Marty Seligman allegedly convened a ‘counter-terrorism and psychology’ meeting at his home, attended by, among others, the alleged creator of the CIA torture program, Dr. James Mitchell, and CIA Director of Behavioral Sciences Research, Kirk M. Hubbard.
    But that the DWP and its contractors are using a test devised by a man who appears to be closely-associated with actual psychological torture by military and intelligence organisations makes the whole matter even more damning – and one that should be occupying the attention of Parliament and the media.

    UK CLAIMANTS ARE BEING USED IN AN EXPERIMENT, THEY ARE BEEN BROKEN DOWN, MADE TO FEEL WORTHLESS, UNCOMFORTABLE AND SADLY, SUICIDAL……………

    THE LEVELS OF STRESS THAT THIS ACT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DEBILITATION HOLDS, HAS NO BOUNDARY, AS EACH PERSON HAS A DIFFERING THRESHOLD TO THE AMOUNT OF PAIN IT CAN SUPPORT.

    WARPED THINKING BY THE DWP HAS SEEN THE DEATH LEVELS OF INNOCENT CLAIMANTS ROCKET.

    OUR GOVERNMENT IS COLLECTIVELY SUPPRESSING DEATH REPORTS ON THIS ISSUE, AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FIGURES COMING TO LIGHT.
    YET INSTEAD OF STOPPING AND ANALYSING THE EXTENT OF THEIR MISGUIDED EXPERIMENT, THEY PLOUGH ON, AFRAID TO CONFRONT THE DEMON THAT THEY HAVE CREATED………..

    SANCTIONING SOMEONE IS NOT ONLY A THREAT OR DETERRENT, IT IS ALSO A MEANS TO AN END, THE ABILITY TO SURVIVE OR DIE.

    WHAT YOU ARE WITNESSING IS A TWISTED DERANGED POLICY THAT KILLS…………

    THERE ARE REASONS WHY OUR GOVERNMENT SOUGHT TO USE SANCTIONS AS A FORM OF TORTURE, THE MAIN ONE BEING, IT LEAVES NO REAL VISIBLE SIGNS OF EVIDENCE……

    BEFORE THE USE OF SANCTIONS WERE INITIATED, OUR GOVERNMENT FAILED TO DO ANY PROPER CUMULATIVE IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON THEIR USE.

    STRANGELY, I HAVE INTERVIEWED ONLY SIXTEEN PEOPLE FROM MY VARYING DISTRICTS OF MY TOWN WHO HAVE HAD SANCTIONS APPLIED AGAINST THEM, FIVE WERE DISABLED, THE OTHERS UNEMPLOYED…………….

    “EVERY ONE OF THEM HAD SUCCUMBED TO SUICIDAL THOUGHTS”

    I AM NOT A DOCTOR, NOR AN EXPERT, BUT I AM WITNESSING A CULL OF HUMAN BEINGS NEVER SEEN ON OUR SHORES BEFORE.

    …………A MURDER OF INDUSTRIAL PROPORTIONS.

  22. stitchedupanbroken says:

    Dear Geoff. I admire and uphold your constant outrage. Your comments are commendable. Howsoever,I must disagree on some points.
    The evil monsters who have implemented the WCA and employed ATOS I do not expect to be held to account. Get real! It’s sad but true…they will retire with their pensions and $$ intact. A long and protracted legal circus will begin with endless investigations and enquiries. Evidence will be called. All costing $$ and employing the same public schoolboys who are dominating our country. Think along who is going to be called to account for the murders by HMG in Iraq. Then think of Hillsboro. Or the Catholic church. Or the shooting of black people in London by Met officers. Then look at the cracking of ‘Niggers Nuts’ by the British Army in Kenya where they roasted the natives over fires. Don’t hold yer breath whilst compo is awarded: it wont come,or it’ll be too little too late. This country remains one of the most evil in the world. It takes first place in teaching others how to kill and shaft people…and get away with it.
    Amongst those who have been shafted by this evil empire,we are hated. It is a great shame that this hate is directed at the common British people…not our ‘glorious leaders’. The public school kids also get English working class capos to do their dirty work. Really,sometimes you have to admire our poison leaders…the toffs lead and pontificate,and the people they shaft end up in body bags or come back here cripples. Some even love their leaders!!
    I woz bred for cannonfodder…and to breed others for cannonfodder. I remember a WW1 vet on tv some 30 years back. Said the same. But being forcedto go OTT (strange to say) his CO got shot in the back(at which point the WW1 winked and gave a wry smile). Very quickly the tv interview was cut!!
    Regards to DWP and MI5 readers!!

Leave a Reply to Stepping Razor Cancel reply